Photo courtesy Foreign Office
Interim Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Thursday underscored to his Afghan counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi, that challenges confronting regional peace and stability should be addressed through collective strategies.
In a statement issued after the meeting, which occurred in China, the Foreign Office said Jilani had reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthen bilateral ties with Afghanistan. It said he had also “underscored that challenges confronting regional peace and stability [should] be addressed in collaborative spirit through collective strategies.”
The meeting follows the caretaker government announcing a crackdown on illegally residing foreigners in Pakistan, including Afghan nationals. Earlier this week, Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti announced all illegal migrants had till Nov. 1 to leave the country voluntarily or risk forcible deportation and a confiscation of all their assets. In response, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban described the policy as “unacceptable,” adding that Pakistan should “tolerate” the presence of refugees on its soil so long as they prefer to stay there.
In his press conference, Bugti had noted that illegal migrants were involved in both smuggling and terror activities, noting specifically that of the 24 suicide attacks in the country thus far this year, 14 had the involvement of Afghan nationals. He further claimed that of roughly 4.4 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, over 1.7 million had no legal documents.
Separately, the KP police chief alleged to Geo News this week that 70-75% of all terror attacks in the province had involvement of Afghan nationals.